in a good running form. He also described 2011 as one of the best years of his career. 2012–13: Final years under De Biasi Now a veteran, Bogdani continued to be a part of the national team even after the appointment of manager Gianni De Biasi, who was known for having a liking for youth players. He scored his first goal under De Biasi on 22 May 2012, his 16th with a penalty, in a 2–1 friendly win over Qatar at Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas. For the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, De Biasi had introduced young forwards into the team to create more competition for the starting eleven. Young forwards such as Edgar Çani, Armando Sadiku and Bekim Balaj provided competition for the established and mature internationals which were Bogdani and Hamdi Salihi. He played as a substitute in the opening Group E match versus Cyprus, entering at 72nd minute in place of Emiljano Vila, only to fire a 30-yard strike into the net in the 87th minute to secure a 3–1 win, a goal which many considered to be the best international goal of his career. It was his 69th match for Albania, which made him the fifth player with most appearances, overtaking Igli Tare and Alban Bushi. He started in the second match against Switzerland but was replaced in the 55th minute as Albania lost 0–2. Bogdani begun 2013 by netting his 18th international goal, a first-half header, in the friendly loss against Georgia on 6 February. He played as a late substitute in the qualifying match versus Norway as Albania took their first ever win versus them thanks to Hamdi Salihi's winner. This proved to be his last competitive match. Bogdani captained Albania for the first time in his career four days later in the friendly match against Lithuania in his 74th international appearance, playing for 70 minutes before making place for Lorik Cana. Retirement On 11 February 2014, Bogdani confirmed to have retired from the played football, thus ending his 17-year international career. At the time, he was Albania's fourth player with most appearances. He is currently the top goalscorer with 18 goals. He also hold records for most goals scored for Albania at FIFA World Cup qualification (8), and most goals scored as a substitute (4). In addition, Bogdani is also the oldest player at 35 years, 10 month, 23 days to score